Kirk to ISS: William Shatner hails astronaut Chris Hadfield

William Shatner, Star Trek's original Captain James T. Kirk, opened hailing frequencies to Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield this morning, as Hadfield executed a standard orbit around the Earth on the International Space Station.

[ Related: Captain Kirk to call Chris Hadfield at space station ]

The phone call only lasted about 14 minutes, but they touched on topics such as NASA's reliance on the Russian space program to continue operations on the ISS, the risks of a potential manned mission to Mars (which Hadfield has apparently already volunteered for should it happen in the near future), the existential aspects of being a scientist on an orbiting space station and our place in the universe, and how to deal with the fear involved with being a test pilot and launching into space (which Hadfield answers brilliantly, working in Shatner's own profession for analogy).

[ Related: Chris Hadfield earns celebrity status from space tweets ]

Watching Cmdr Hadfield talk is a joy. He is not only informative and entertaining, but he blends both together effortlessly. We, as Canadians, should be proud to have such a wonderful representative circling our planet.

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